Fine dining – "It's intriguing that something so large can literally just be plugged in to a port," Sunborn Gibraltar CEO, Brian Stevendale, told CNN. "We will have enormous power cables safely secured underground."

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World's first five-star yacht hotel8 photos

No land? No problem – At just 6.8 square kilometers, the British territory of Gibraltar is a tiny state with scarce land for new buildings. Instead, developers turned their attention to the sea for their opulent hotel, which also features a ballroom.

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World's first five-star yacht hotel8 photos

Life of luxury – At seven storeys tall, the vessel will dwarf nearby yachts in the marina, with rooms expected to cost between $300 and $3,000 per night.

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World's first five-star yacht hotel8 photos

Sign of things to come? – The vessel, which includes plush outdoor areas for many of the rooms, is Sunborn's second yacht hotel after Finland. There are now plans to build similar ships for London and Barcelona.

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Story highlights

With land at a premium, property developers increasingly turn to floating hotels

That's where the Sunborn Yacht Hotel comes in, with Stevendale saying it could pave the way for similar vessels across the world -- and even be used at temporary events such as the World Cup or Olympics.

Coming to a city near you?

Gibraltar follows the company's first yacht hotel -- the "Sunborn Princess" -- which was moored at Naantali Spa Resort in Finland in 2002.

There are now plans to anchor similar floating hotels in London and Barcelona. But with each contract usually spanning 10 years, Stevendale says its unlikely the vessels will be doing much cruising once they're in place.

And if Sunborn is on the right track, the most successful boats could be those which never even set sail.